m. I agree with the assessment that this is a self-inflicted wound. The meta is something that will always exist, and SE has a tendency to respond to the meta in a way to bridge inclusivity gaps. The 2 minute window is definitely a result of this and really an ongoing design choice of timing and event metrics. The game is less of a game in some scenarios and more of an assembly line where if everyone knows exactly what to do, the only chaos that is left to overcome is the RNG of hit% and crit%. This tier is a brilliant example of this because you can run the timeline of the whole fight and have some pretty reasonable expectations about how to approach and then complete each encounter. Look at any guide video prepared for Savage, the formula is always the same: 'teaching you the mechanics, running those mechanics in a certain order, and then combining those mechanics as a sort of quiz as the battle progresses into its own Act 3.

They try to hide it by having random 'modifiers' (cleaves in P6S for example) that mix things up ever so slightly, but as you continue to get used to raiding, the only real challenge to overcome is getting the team to coordinate within the timeline. It's almost like they are relying on people to not scooch their openers 15 seconds downstream as a lot of mechanics in Savage seem to come alongside the 2 minute interval. It feels to me that this design is set for exactly the kind of player that values completing a puzzle game and not one that would prefer a more organic experience that could be easy to cheese. And even then, the meta just shifts to the new types of cheese that propagates through the community, so design has to be strict to still allow the challenge while also obscuring the base formula of 'go here, stand here, then go here' as much as they can without making it feel cheap, and satisfy the first-rans.

I personally don't think it is a formula that will last, but as long as new players keep experiencing the content and don't realize just how heavily they have to reuse some tropes in this game, it will persist. I tend to still be surprised what they're capable of doing with fights today, but it's hard to tell if they are all that willing to innovate anymore, I think players have been quietly grumbling about this for a long time. This game is locked into its formula, there is only so much it can do, and the only way to make sure no one gets left behind they almost 'have' to simplify class mechanics across the board, and it's not just the devs fault in this. Players will always find a way to simplify any solution, and so it's kind of a developer's duty to see how long they can hold them off.

I'm sorry if this wandered a little bit; it is a very dense thing to think about, more fun to think about than the game itself IMO. But I do think this game is feeling its age at this point, and players may be ready to move on, which is a weird thing to say.